Director, IT Digital Transformation

PLZ Corp; Downers Grove (IL); On-site; USD 200,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company paid Life and Short-Term disb.

Voluntary benefits including life, and

401k & company provided match

Paid Time Off

Bonus incentive programs

Job summary

PLZ Corp seeks a Director of IT Digital Transformation to lead the development, implementation, and maintenance of custom software applications and AI-enabled capabilities across the organization. You will align projects with business goals, manage a team of developers, and partner with stakeholders to deliver scalable, secure solutions.

In this role you will drive digital transformation initiatives, oversee budgets and timelines, ensure quality, and promote responsible innovation with

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years in software development with at least 5 years in leadership.
• Experience managing custom application development projects from inception to completion.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage project plans, timelines, and budgets for custom application development.
• Oversee the design, development, and implementation of custom applications.
• Ensure applications meet business requirements and are delivered on time and within budget.
• Lead and mentor a team of software developers, providing guidance and support.
• Conduct performance reviews and provide professional development opportunities for the team.
• Implement and ensure best practices for software development, including coding standards, code reviews, testing and documentation.
• Manage the resolution of any issues or bugs that arise.

Skills

Leadership & mentorship

AI/ML knowledge

Agile methodologies

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, information technology, or related field

Tools

SAP/Microsoft Dynamics CRM/BI Systems

Job description

PLZ is committed to product stewardship and innovation, strong ethical standards, sustainable operations and most importantly, the development of our people. Whether at our manufacturing facilities or corporate headquarters, PLZ prioritizes health and safety, and offers you the support you need to create the career you want, through engagement, equity and inclusion, and opportunity.

From household cleaning solutions to personal care products, and food to automotive lubricants, PLZ produces more than 2,500 different aerosol and liquid products in our facilities across the continent. We know that being the partner of choice for our clients starts with being the partner of choice for our employees. Learn more at www.plzcorp.com/careers or visit https://youtu.be/XYNIFpLQIJY

The Director, IT Digital Transformation leads the development, implementation, and maintenance of custom software applications tailored to the organization’s needs. The role also provides leadership for digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, identifying opportunities to modernize business processes, improve decision-making, and enable responsible innovation. This leader manages a team of developers, partners with business stakeholders to translate requirements into scalable solutions and ensures that applications and AI-enabled capabilities align with organizational goals. The IT Director is accountable for solution security, scalability, maintainability, data readiness, adoption, and measurable business value.

Key responsibility:

• Develop and manage project plans, timelines, and budgets for custom application development.
• Oversee the design, development, and implementation of custom applications.
• Ensure applications meet business requirements and are delivered on time and within budget.
• Lead and mentor a team of software developers, providing guidance and support.
• Conduct performance reviews and provide professional development opportunities for the team.
• Implement and ensure best practices for software development, including coding standards, code reviews, testing and documentation. Manage the resolution of any issues or bugs that arise.
• Work closely with business stakeholders to gather and understand requirements.
• Communicate project status, risks, and issues to senior management and stakeholders.
• Facilitate effective collaboration between development teams and other IT functions.
• Ensure applications are thoroughly tested and meet quality standards before deployment.
• Oversee the development of testing plans and strategies to speedy delivery of projects.
• Provide technical guidance and support to the development team.
• Ensure the security and scalability of custom applications.
• Oversee the maintenance and ongoing support of custom applications.
• Manage the deployment of updates and enhancements.
• Ensure documentation is complete and up-to-date.
• Ability to support business in post-go-live stages of projects.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget while maintaining a high level of quality and customer satisfaction.
• Evaluate digital and AI platforms, vendors, and partners based on strategic fit, technical architecture, security, interoperability, total cost of ownership, and expected business value.
• Define and monitor adoption, quality, productivity, customer experience, risk, and financial metrics to demonstrate the value of digital transformation and AI investments.
• Drive organizational adoption through change management, stakeholder engagement, training, communications, and the development of digital and AI fluency across business teams.
• Promote a product-oriented delivery model with rapid prototyping, user-centered design, reusable components, disciplined experimentation, and scalable production deployment.
• Collaborate with data, cybersecurity, infrastructure, enterprise applications, Legal, HR, and business teams to ensure AI initiatives use trusted data and integrate securely with the technology ecosystem.
• Ensure AI solutions are designed and operated responsibly, with appropriate governance for data privacy, security, access, model risk, human oversight, transparency, and regulatory compliance.
• Lead the design and delivery of AI-enabled solutions, including copilots, predictive models, intelligent search, document processing, and decision-support capabilities, where appropriate.
• Establish an intake and prioritization process for digital and AI initiatives, including business cases, value realization measures, resource needs, risks, and adoption plans.
• Partner with business leaders to identify, prioritize, and deliver high-value use cases involving workflow digitization, automation, advanced analytics, generative AI, and intelligent applications.
• Define and execute a digital transformation and AI capability roadmap aligned with business priorities and measurable outcomes.
• Stay up to date with emerging technologies and industry trends.
• Act as a liaison between IT and other departments to facilitate effective communication and collaboration
• Manage relationships with technology vendors and service providers
• Identify opportunities for leveraging digital technologies to improve business processes and outcomes
• Ensure seamless integration of new technologies with existing systems and processes
• Exposure to SAP/Microsoft Dynamics CRM/BI Systems.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, information technology, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in software development, with at least 5 years in a leadership or management role.
• Proven experience in managing custom application development projects from inception to completion.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to analyze complex business requirements.
• Strong leadership and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize and handle multiple tasks concurrently.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
• Proven change leadership skills, including stakeholder alignment, user adoption, workforce enablement, and communication of complex technology concepts to executive and non-technical audiences.
• Strong understanding of data quality, architecture, security, privacy, and governance requirements for AI-enabled solutions.
• Ability to translate business opportunities into a prioritized digital and AI portfolio with clear outcomes, governance, funding, delivery plans, and success measures.
• Experience integrating digital and AI capabilities with enterprise platforms, APIs, data services, cloud environments, and existing business processes.
• Working knowledge of modern AI capabilities, including generative AI, machine learning, natural language processing, intelligent automation, and responsible AI practices.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise digital transformation, process automation, or AI-enabled application initiatives from strategy through adoption and value realization.
• Experience in Agile development methodologies is a plus.
• Experience working in a team as well as an independent environment.
• Must be able to communicate with all levels of the organization including the ability to explain technical processes and concepts to non-technical user groups.
• Takes initiative and self-motivator. Ability to identify and understand business problems and offer viable solutions to address them same.
• Ability to establish, build, and maintain relationships with individuals at all levels of the organization.
• Good documentation skills and ability to create documents for blueprinting, configuration, test cases, defect resolution, and training materials.

Compensation:

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $200,000/year in our lowest geographic market up to $220,000/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Dependent on the position offered, other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits.

PLZ Corp offers a robust suite of benefits including:

• Company paid Life and Short-Term disability.
• Voluntary benefits including additional life, disability, and hospital/accident insurance.
• 401k & company provided match.
• Paid Time Off
• Bonus incentive programs (Note, bonuses are subject to the rules governing the program, whereby an award, if any, depends on various factors, including, without limitation, individual and organizational performance.)

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status or other protected status. EEOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.